


Boiling

by FeatherQuilt88



Series: The Amber Dragon Anthology [17]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Dadko, Expectant Parents, Family Feels, Fire Lord Zuko, Grandpa Iroh, Happy, Happy Family, Joyful, Multi, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Kissing, Post-Canon, Pregnancy, Soft Zuko (Avatar), Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 03:11:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21190604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeatherQuilt88/pseuds/FeatherQuilt88
Summary: Zuko and Jin come to the teashop to give Iroh some very special news.





	Boiling

**Author's Note:**

> For readers new to my "Amber Dragon" fanfic series--in it, Iroh runs a new teashop, the Amber Dragon, in Capital City. My fancharacter, Chiko, is Iroh's adoptive daughter. Iroh and Zuko call each other "Dad" and "Son" now, and Zuko considers Chiko his little sister by the same token.

Zuko and Jin have come over for a visit at the Amber Dragon, and Iroh is busy fussing over one of his largest teapots in the kitchen, getting the water ready for a nice brew of ginseng.

"Dad, can you come out here and sit with us for a second?!" Zuko calls to him, almost impatiently.

"Just a moment, you two, let me finish putting this kettle on!" Iroh shuffles out to greet them, wiping his hands distractedly on a towel. Chiko has already taken a seat on the living-room couch, contentedly playing with some string until he gets there.

Zuko takes his adoptive father in his arms, and lays him very carefully between himself and his wife. Iroh cocks a gray eyebrow at him, almost suspiciously--he is always happy to cuddle with his children, but he wonders what this urgency, followed by the profound quiet, is all about.

Zuko's grin is almost breathless with playful anticipation, now, as he nose-boops Iroh. "Dad..." he whispers; "_you're going to be a grandfather._"

Iroh's scream of joy almost defies description. It comes out rather hoarse and squeaky, trying to reach higher than his grumbly voice can actually manage, just as he now almost seems to leap straight out of his heavy little body. "OH Z-ZUK-KO!! JIN, I--ZZ-OH, OH OH!!!!"

The little teamaker nearly shakes the couch to pieces, laughing and crying and bouncing in excitement, clapping his hands like a happy child at a birthday party. He hugs his second son and his daughter-in-law both fiercely, kissing them all over their faces, then grabs Chiko, and does the same to her for good measure.

The little girl has dropped her cat's-cradle, and is swept up in the joy of the moment with the rest of them. But she is a little confused as to why her guardian is crying so much. "It's okay, Bapa," she coos soothingly, petting his bearded cheek; "it's okay!"

Jin is wiping softly at her hazel eyes as well. She and Zuko both knew Iroh would be happy, but his explosion of emotion is far more powerful than anything she would have imagined, from him or from her own parents either one. Iroh is sobbing, _trembling,_ going all to pieces. It's almost heartbreakingly sweet, and perhaps is fueled by all the traumas he has endured in his long life, Jin suddenly realizes.

The Fire Lady sniffles, but smiles broadly. "It's all right, Papa Mushi," she whispers, cuddling Iroh to calm him down, just as Chiko was trying to do. One of her long braids gets tangled in his beard as she pulls him towards her, rocking him almost like a baby in her arms himself. "Shhh, don't cry...."

After he pets and kisses Iroh's shoulder for a moment too, Zuko relaxes, seeing that his wife has his father-figure well in-hand. He reaches over them both to pull his adoptive sister into his lap, making sure she doesn't feel left-out. "Little Ko," he grins, booping Chiko's nose softly just like he did Iroh's earlier, "_you're_ going to be an _aunt!_"

Chiko has been smiling and bouncing happily, but now her big eyes waver. "But... but I don't know _how_ to be an aunt! How do I learn to be an auntie, Big Ko?" she peeps, suddenly a little worried. (Somehow, the notion that Zuko himself is going to have to learn to be a father--and doesn't already know how to automatically--never occurs to her.)

Iroh laughs through his drying tears, finally getting ahold of himself. He pulls himself up from Jin's embrace, and bends over to his other side now, to enfold Chiko in a tight cuddle. "It's _very easy,_" he reassures the little bundle, chuckling the warm, knowing chuckle of someone who has been called "Uncle" for many years of his life. "All you need is lots and lots of love. And your little heart is _full_ of that!"

Chiko stares innocently up at them all, places her tiny hands over her heart, and begins to smile again, as she considers this. Jin smiles again, too, and picks her up now, so that Iroh can have his moment with Zuko. The old man is beginning to laugh and cry helplessly again, the tremors of joy coming back. The young Fire Lord holds his father-figure tight, knowing that he has the best instructions on how to be a good parent right here--this tubby little mess, shaking in his arms. He and Iroh kiss again and again.

Suddenly, a loud whistling noise erupts from the kitchen.

Everyone looks up, processes this, and bursts into a fresh bout of laughter. The couch begins to shake under their collective mirth once more.

It's the first time, in all his sixty-seven years of existence, that Iroh has _ever_ over-boiled a pot of tea!


End file.
